Seduction
by lastincurableromantic
Summary: After Rose suffers a memory loss while visiting an alien planet, the Doctor struggles with how to help her regain her memory of him. 10/Rose.
1. Chapter 1-- The Club

**a/n: This takes place shortly after Age of Steel. And I just want to thank bittie752 for encouraging me to write this story and for beta-reading this. I'm the one who usually handles grammar and punctuation, so any errors along those lines are mine; don't blame her. :) And as always, I don't own Doctor Who or any of the characters therein. If I did, the last couple of seasons would have gone quite differently.  
**

* * *

**Seduction **

**Chapter 1**

"C'mon, Rose!" the dark haired young woman yelled over the pounding music in the club. She was holding Rose's hand and was fairly dragging her across the room.

"I'm comin', Shareen, I'm comin'!" Rose yelled back.

From his position at the bar, the Doctor watched as he spotted Rose cross the room to the dance floor. He swallowed thickly as he again saw the clothes she was wearing._ If you could even call them clothes_, he thought. The red halter top she wore looked like little more than a scarf tied around her neck and waist and covered her front but left her back entirely exposed. Her tight black skirt rode low on her hips, leaving a four inch strip of bare skin between where her top ended and her skirt began. The skirt was so tight in fact that she probably wouldn't have been able to walk in it, let alone dance, except for the fact that it was so short. It didn't even cover to mid-thigh so it didn't restrict the movement of her legs. Her incredibly long legs… legs that were only covered by the knee high black boots she was wearing.

_She is so beautiful_, he thought, the low light from the club catching in her long blonde hair that flowed over her shoulders. She had grown her hair out again, he noticed. He had always loved her long hair. For a second, an eternity for a Time Lord, he imagined himself moving her silky blonde hair off her shoulders and replacing it with open mouthed kisses, caressing the exposed areas with his lips and his tongue…

He scrubbed his face with his hands as he fought off a powerful wave of arousal. This wasn't about him. This was about healing Rose. And despite the fact that she knew she had had a memory loss, losing those memories meant that mentally she was young, younger than she had been when they had first begun traveling together, back when he had had short hair and blue eyes and had first fallen in love with her. Back then he had worn a leather jacket. Like the leather of her almost not there skirt… No, thinking about how much he wanted to touch the bare skin between her skirt and her top wouldn't help her. Or the exposed skin between her skirt and her boots…

He couldn't do this. He couldn't seduce her merely to help her regain her memories. Although she had never said it, he knew she had loved him, and he thought she had known how he felt about her, but now with her memory gone she didn't even know him. He thought he had seen attraction in her eyes when she had come to the bar earlier to get a drink, but he couldn't cheapen what they had had then with a seduction now.

No matter how much he wanted her.

Oh, he missed her so, so much.

There must be another way, he said to himself for close to the millionth time. He ran his hands through his hair as his mind ran through all the possible ways he could save her without seducing her. _Medical intervention_. Tried and failed. _Maybe I should talk to Jackie again_, he thought. _Maybe with more work she could help trigger Rose's memories_. But that hadn't worked. And wouldn't work since the memories she had lost hadn't been from her time on the Estate. _Maybe if she took her to Downing Street again, or the London Eye. Or Cardiff_. But he knew that that hadn't helped so far. Jackie had already taken Rose every place in Great Britain that they had traveled to together. Even Jackie_ accidentally_ running into Sarah Jane hadn't helped. And he knew that with the type of memory loss she had, just telling her who he was and inviting her into the TARDIS, completely out of the blue, would be too much of a shock. A shock like that could mean she'd never regain her memory. No, that was no good either.

_It was a mistake to come_, he told himself._ She's better off without me anyway. Despite what Jackie says_. How many times had she almost died when she was with him? He had been selfish to ask her along in the first place. He had told himself that he wanted her along to show her the universe, as a sort of reward for saving his life, but the truth was he had asked her along to stave off his own loneliness. And because, even then, he had felt a connection with her that he hadn't felt with anyone else in a very, very long time.

He had even asked her twice, something he never had done before. Three times, actually, if you counted the time after he had regenerated.

Rose had arrived on the small dance floor of the club and begun dancing with someone he didn't recognize. From where he stood, the Doctor could see the man's hands on the small amount of bare skin between her halter top and the skirt. Waves of jealousy joined the barely controlled arousal he felt. That was the bare skin where he wanted his own hands. And his lips. And, truth be told, his tongue.

After a short time, the man left the dance floor and she began to dance with someone else. And the Doctor realized that he'd do anything to get her back. Even if it meant seducing her. Maybe he wouldn't have to_ seduce_ seduce her. Maybe just spending time with her, having her get to know him again, would be enough. And with that he drained his drink, left the bar and crossed the short distance to the dance floor.


	2. Chapter 2-- Azalea

**Chapter Two - Azalea**

_Six months earlier_

The Doctor bounced around the console, flipping switches and pressing buttons until he reached a large lever, and then turned to look at Rose.

"You wanna do the honors?" he said, a wide grin on his face.

Her eyes widened, a look of complete shock on her face. "Really? Can I?"

Rose wouldn't have thought it possible, but his grin widened even further, his tongue touching his upper teeth in an unconscious mimic of her most flirtatious smile. He jerked his head towards the console, and she fairly leapt off the jump seat to join him.

Her body radiated her excitement, and the truth was he was almost as excited as she was. To see her happy, and to know he had somehow brought that happiness to her, touched him deeply and on so many levels, levels that over the centuries he had forgotten he even had.

"Alright, you need to do exactly what I tell you," he said. "Put both hands right here." He gestured to the lever. She stepped up to the console and put her hands exactly where he had indicated. Stepping behind her, he put his arms around her and rested his hands on top of hers. "Okay, when I tell you, you're gonna slowly pull the lever downwards, towards the console. Okay, on the count of three. One, two, three, now." She slowly pulled the lever down, his hands guiding hers. "Slowly, slowly, gently…"

The sound of the TARDIS materializing softly echoed through the room.

"Okay, we're done," he said, reluctantly removing his hands from hers.

"That's it?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder at him, hands still on the lever.

"That's it," he answered.

"We're here?"

"Yes, we're most definitely here." He beamed at her.

Laughing, she spun around and grabbed him in a hug, which he returned, closing his eyes for a moment in the joy of holding her. Too soon, for him, she broke away and grinned at him.

"So where's here?" she asked.

"Outside those doors is the planet Azalea. Settled by humans in the 83rd century, it was so named for the predominance of flowers in its plant life. Particularly, of course, azaleas, although it has a number of other flowers as well. Millions, actually. In fact, each and every type of plant on the planet has flowers, from the grass to the bushes to the trees, and right now this is the height of Azalea's spring. The entire planet is in bloom."

"How is that possible? Shouldn't parts of the planet have an autumn while parts have spring?"

"Very good, Rose," he said. "Yes, typically that would be the case. But Earth's seasons are caused by the tilt of its axis in relation to its orbit around the sun. Azalea has virtually no tilt, so its seasons are entirely caused by its position in its orbit and its distance from the sun. And it's currently approaching its closest position in its orbit…."

"So it's spring," she finished.

"So it's spring."

She grinned at him, and he grinned back.

"Can I?" she asked with a jerk of her head towards the door.

"Go right ahead."

She ran towards the door, flung it open and stepped outside. First picking up his long brown overcoat from one of the struts and pulling it on over his brown pinstriped suit, he followed closely behind her and closed the door to the TARDIS.

"Oh my God," she said, looking around her, "it's gorgeous." She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. "And it smells wonderful." She opened her eyes and turned to him. "Almost as good as applegrass."

"Yeah," he said softly, staring into her eyes, "almost as good as applegrass."

And as she stared back at him, her mouth fell slightly open and she unconsciously licked her lips.

He swallowed slightly nervously, noticing how the bright pink of her jacket brought out the color in her cheeks, and how the sunlight bouncing off her blonde hair made it almost glow. Until he had met her, the Doctor had never noticed how beautiful the colors pink and yellow were. After a moment, he took a deep breath and forced himself to look away.

"Well, shall we?"

"Which way should we go?" she asked.

Craning his neck, he looked around. The TARDIS had landed in the middle of a field of wildflowers. To their left, approximately two miles off, was a forest, perhaps fifteen miles ahead of them were the foothills of a distant mountain range, and to their right, about a mile away, was a town of some sort.

"Why don't you choose?" he asked.

"Let's see," she said as if deeply considering the matter. "Trees or shops. Trees or shops. Trees or shops. Well, normally I'd say trees, but I know how much you like little shops…." She tried, and utterly failed, to hide a smirk. "I'd hate to deprive you of something you really like."

He grinned. "Shops it is!" He took her hand and they quickly crossed the field.

~oOo~

"Doctor, what is this?" she asked.

They were sitting at an open air restaurant near the center of town. In the center of the table sat a platter full of flowers, and the waiter had brought them drinks in glasses the shapes of tulips with straws that resembled stems. In fact, Rose had noticed before sitting down that the floral theme continued with plates in the shape of daisies, the streetlights which looked like calla lilies and the chairs which were upholstered in a floral pattern.

Rose was motioning to her drink.

"You've got shooman," he answered. "It's one of the national drinks, the other being yoville. They automatically serve them here. A glass of each, so you can taste both. And if you don't like them, they will bring you something else. They make an excellent chamomile tea here."

"So I've got the shooman and you've got the yoville, right?" She took a sip through the long, green straw and nodded. "It's… nice. Kinda like a fruit punch. Wanna try it?" She held it out to him.

He stared at her for a moment. They hadn't come to Azalea on accident. It had a reputation as being one of the most romantic spots in the 83rd century. The real question was whether or not he was going to be brave enough to follow through, to try to change their friendship into a romance. As much as he had wanted to, he had been afraid to take the next step, afraid that if he got too close it would make it that much harder when he eventually lost her. But in recent weeks he had felt that it would be a bigger risk not to do it. Centuries were too long to live with the regrets of what could have been.

And he was sick of having regrets.

He took the glass from her outstretched hands and deliberately took a sip through her straw. She blinked in surprise.

"You're right," he said. "It is good." He handed it back to her and took a sip of his own drink through his own straw. "Not bad. You wanna try?" he asked, looking into her eyes.

She took his glass from his outstretched hands and, copying him, took a sip through his straw, her eyes never leaving his. "Gorgeous," she answered slowly.

Finally she looked away, breaking the mood. "Boy, there are a _lot_ of flowers here. They're everywhere," she said, looking around. "A little obsessed with flowers, are they? I mean, I get the centerpiece…"

"We're here during the annual flower festival. And that is not a centerpiece." He grinned at her. "That,_ Rose_ Tyler," he said, emphasizing her first name, "is our meal."

"Flowers? We eat the flowers?"

"Yep," he said.

She cocked her head and stared at it. "So what do we do? Just grab a bunch and shove 'em in our mouths?"

"Well, you can if you want, but typically you take one at a time, savoring each bite…." He demonstrated, taking a white flower off the pile and eating the petals.

She shrugged her shoulders. "When in Rome," she said. She took a purple flower off the pile and took a bite. "Huh. Tastes kinda like grapes."

The Doctor gestured to some small bowls near the platter that Rose hadn't noticed. "These are different types of dip. Yogurt based. You dip the flowers in and then eat them." Picking up a flower, he dipped it in the nearest bowl and held it up to her mouth. "Try it."

Staring at him wide eyed, she opened her mouth and he put the flower in, gently brushing her lips with his fingertips. "'S lovely," she said after she swallowed. "Is this some sort of custom on this planet, feeding each other?" she asked slowly, looking in his eyes.

He matched her gaze. "No," he said softly.

Rose raised her eyebrows. She then picked up a flower, dipped it in the fruit-flavored yogurt, and held it up to his mouth. Slowly she grinned.

~oOo~

After their meal they wandered through the nearby marketplace arm in arm, periodically stopping to look at the merchandise for sale.

"What's this?" Rose asked, carefully holding up a large red ball with sharp spikes all over it.

"Oh, now that is interesting," the Doctor responded. "It's the seed of the Ooman tree. After the tree is finished blooming, these seeds are produced and the tree literally throws them as far away as possible."

"Throws them?" she asked dubiously. She put it back and they continued walking down the narrow street.

"The Ooman tree is one of the few trees that is actually capable of independent movement. Its limbs can actually function like arms," he told her. "Of course, Ooman trees are nothing compared to the Forest of Cheem…."

Rose rolled her eyes, remembering Jabe from when they had gone to see the sun expand and the Earth destroyed.

"So does everything around here have to do with plants?" she asked.

"Pretty much," he said. "At least right now."

Further down the street Rose got distracted by a clothing shop filled with floral themed dresses. Letting go of her for a moment, he crossed to a florist across the street. He came back almost immediately and took her hand.

"Ready?" he asked.

She nodded, smiling.

Spotting a nearby park, they walked to it and sat down on a bench. It was nearing sundown and the park was almost deserted.

"This has been really nice," she said. "We haven't had to run for our lives, and we haven't even been arrested once."

The Doctor laughed quietly. "Sounds like the definition of a pretty good day." He paused for a second, and then said, "Rose, I got you something." He pulled a large pink flower out of his pocket.

"No, thanks," she said. "I'm still kinda full from lunch."

He grinned at her. "No, this one isn't for you to eat," he said. He reached up, combed her hair back with his fingers and stuck it behind her ear. "There," he said quietly. "Beautiful."

She stared at him in surprise. "Thanks," she said softly.

He took her chin in his hand. "You're welcome," he whispered. To her surprise, he pulled her close and kissed her. And she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back.

Later, arm in arm they began to walk back through town to get to the TARDIS. Halfway through the marketplace Rose stopped. He glanced down at her. She had a vacant expression on her face.

"Rose, what's wrong?" he asked in concern.

"Dunno," she said. "All of a sudden, I just feel… funny. A little bit dizzy, y'know?" She looked up at him, a puzzled expression on her face. "I'm sorry," she said. "Do I know you?"

And then the Doctor caught her as she collapsed.


	3. Chapter 3-- The Hospital

**Chapter 3- The Hospital**

"I need to be back there with Rose," the Doctor insisted for the fifteenth time to the nurse behind the desk.

"I'm sorry," the woman replied. "I can't let you back there. I don't care if you are a doctor."

When Rose had collapsed in the narrow street of the marketplace, one of the vendors had immediately called for assistance and she was rushed to a nearby hospital. Despite the Doctor's protests, he wasn't allowed to accompany her while the doctor examined her.

"I'm not _a _doctor, I'm _the_ Doctor," he said in frustration. "And whatever it is, whatever is wrong with her, I can help them with it."

"I'm sorry," she said again. "You'll just have to wait."

Running his hands through his hair, the Doctor resumed pacing back and forth across the narrow waiting room, periodically staring at the door next to the nurse's station. He hated hospitals. And this one having a little shop in no way made up for the fact that it was Rose back there, lying in an examining room, being treated by strange doctors using primitive 83rd century medical treatments. After several minutes, he stopped and crossed to the desk again.

"What is taking so long?"

She sighed. "Sir, the doctor will be out shortly and will be able to answer any of your questions then."

At that, a young woman dressed in a white lab coat entered the room holding what appeared to be a small, computerized clipboard. Her long, dark brown hair was tied back in a ponytail that hung down her back.

The Doctor rushed to her. "Are you the doctor?" he asked her.

"Yes, I'm Dr. Richmond," the woman answered. "Are you here with the young woman who was brought in?"

"Yes," the Doctor answered quickly. "Her name is Rose. How is she?"

"If you would step back here for a moment, please," Dr. Richmond said, gesturing at the door. She led the way down a long white corridor. "And your name is?" she asked.

"I'm the Doctor," he replied. "Just the Doctor."

She looked at him curiously and then inwardly shrugged. It wasn't the strangest name she had ever heard of.

"If you are called the Doctor, does that mean you have a medical degree?" she asked.

"Not as such, but I know enough," he replied.

They entered a small examination room where Rose lay on a diagnostic bed, unconscious. On the wall above her head a screen displayed her vital signs. She was hooked up to an IV, and a small oxygen mask covered her mouth and nose. The Doctor rushed to her side and took her hand.

"When she was brought in her blood pressure was extremely low and she was having trouble breathing," Dr. Richmond told him. "But we have managed to stabilize her."

"Did you find out what's wrong with her?" he asked.

"She appears to have been bitten by a strain of memory worm," the woman replied.

"A memory worm?" the Doctor asked. "Are you sure? Memory worms don't cause these types of symptoms. They usually just wipe out the last few minutes of your short term memory. And they are huge. It's hard not to notice them."

"Not this strain of memory worm. This subspecies is microscopic. Look here." She tilted Rose's head to the side and moved her hair away from her ear. Behind her ear the skin looked red and inflamed. The Doctor put on his glasses, bent down and looked closer. It wasn't a rash. There were hundreds of tiny red dots, bites he realized, covering the area behind her left ear. "She was wearing a flower in her hair when she was brought in. We examined the petals under a microscope and found this." She walked over to the diagnostic screen, touched a small button on its side and a picture of a flower petal covered in tiny worms came into view. The Doctor stepped closer to the screen and peered at it through his glasses. "Normally memory worms are fairly harmless. A single bite may make you forget from a few minutes to about a half hour. But the type she was bitten by can effectively wipe out large chunks of long term memory, and with as many bites as she had…."

The Doctor felt sick. "I gave her that flower."

"Do you remember where you got it? We'll have to find the vendor and make sure none of the other flowers are infested with these things."

"I bought it at a flower shop on Market Street. Near a clothing store," he said numbly. After a moment he turned back to Dr. Richmond. "Is she going to be alright?"

"I'm not going to lie to you. With the number of bites she received, it was touch and go for a few minutes there, but she should be fine. But she may have a bit of amnesia because of this," Dr. Richmond warned him.

"How much is a bit?" the Doctor asked.

"Based on the number of bites, I estimate it may be about three years," she answered.

"Three years!" he said incredulously. He sank into a chair by the bed.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I am assuming you two are close." The Doctor nodded. "If I may ask, how long have you known her?"

He turned to Rose and took her hand again. "Only about a year and a half," he said quietly. After a moment he took a deep breath and turned back to Dr. Richmond.

"So what can we do to help Rose get her memory back?"

"Well, the good news is that those memories are still there," she said. "The venom of the memory worm causes problems with memory retrieval rather than an actual memory wipe. However, I have to be honest with you. We haven't had much luck with patients regaining their memories after this type of injury, particularly with the number of bites she received. May I ask how close the two of you are?"

"Very close," he said. "Why?"

"Because over the years the only cases that have been successful have been in situations where the patient had a partner, and the partner was able to help trigger the memories."

The Doctor stared at her. "When you say partner, you mean… what, exactly?"

"You know, a partner. A spouse. A lover. Someone the patient was in a committed relationship with."

"And when you said 'help trigger the memories'?"

"Through physical intimacy," she replied. "The neurochemicals secreted by the brain during intimacy stimulate the memory centers and can counteract the blockage in memory retrieval caused by the memory worm's venom. But it has to be with an existing partner, someone the patient was physically and emotionally close to during the time the patient can't remember. It's the intensity of the intimacy, combined with the neurochemicals, which can overcome the memory blockage." She turned to look at him. He looked stricken. "Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't realize. I thought you said you two were close."

He took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. Letting go of Rose's hand, he ran his hands through his hair, causing it to stand up a bit. "Not that close."

"Well," she said, "I have heard of a single case of it working with a couple who were on the verge of taking that step in their relationship. But in all of those cases, the patients had known their partners long enough that they hadn't totally forgotten them. It would be much trickier in a case where the partner didn't know the patient before the loss would have begun. And with her having lost three years…."

"She won't have any idea who I am," he said. "Not to mention the fact that we weren't…." He sighed heavily and scrubbed his face with his hands. "Isn't there anything else we could do?"

"Well," she said, "we could try to replace the neurochemicals with synthesized ones, but we haven't had a single case of that being successful."

"What about memory triggers, or telepathy?" he asked, running his hands through his hair in frustration again.

She shook her head. "So far we have had no luck with any of that with our patients. What's more, pressing too hard to get the patient to remember, or the patient having a sudden shock of some type, can actually cause a cascade effect, so that the patient ends up losing additional memories.

"And one more thing to keep in mind. The longer this amnesia lasts, the more persistent it will be and the more likely for it to become permanent. I know you want to reverse this, but whatever you do, whatever method you try, you will have to do it quickly."

She paused for a moment. "Rose is stable enough to be released. The best thing for her would be to wake up in an environment she is familiar with, with people she can remember. A place she considers home. Even waking up here, in hospital, surrounded by people she doesn't know, could be too jarring for her. I can give you something to keep her sedated until she gets home."

"Thank you," the Doctor said.

"Good luck," she replied.

~oOo~

Leaving Rose in the hospital's care for the moment, the Doctor literally ran to the TARDIS, making it back in record time, thankful that this body seemed to be made for running. Once there, he flew the TARDIS back to the hospital, materializing right in Rose's room. He quickly disconnected her oxygen mask and IV, picked her up and carried her straight into the TARDIS medbay. After putting them in the vortex, he returned to Rose's side.

Thankfully, she was still unconscious. He immediately went to work synthesizing a cocktail of neurotransmitters that would mimic the ones she needed. Once done, he injected her with it, knowing that there would be no way to tell if it had worked until she woke up.

He knew that there was one more thing he could do, but he was reluctant to try it. Entering her mind without her permission, even for something like this, was an unforgivable violation of her privacy. But he had to try it, even if she never forgave him.

Pulling a chair up to the examination table where Rose now lay, he steeled himself for a moment and then deliberately placed his fingertips on her temple. He forced himself to ignore the joy and pleasure he felt in touching her mind. He reminded himself he was a doctor, as well as the Doctor, having received a more than adequate amount of medical training during the War, and it was necessary for him to act as her doctor now rather than as her friend.

He took a deep breath and looked for the damaged area of her brain. Since she was unconscious, she was unable to close any doors to things she didn't want him to see, so he tried to be very careful not to look at anything else. Despite being unconscious, stray thoughts would appear here and there, mostly from her childhood, and he tried his best to ignore them. Finally he found what he was looking for, a chunk of memories associated with the past three years of her life. To his disappointment, it was entirely inaccessible, even to him. Mentally it appeared as a dark, impenetrable sphere; there was no possible way in or out. Knowing that his presence in her mind was now pointless, he withdrew, feeling a profound sense of loss in the process.

Despite his best efforts, telepathy hadn't work.

He sighed again, head in his hands, and hoped the neurotransmitters he had given her would.


	4. Chapter 4-- Going Home

**Chapter Four—Going Home**

The TARDIS landed, without warning, in the middle of Jackie Tyler's flat. It was by no means the first time it had happened, but it was such a rare occurrence that Jackie left the kitchen in the middle of washing the dishes. Wearing her signature light blue track suit, her bottle blonde hair in a messy ponytail, she waited by the door, grinning, still drying her hands on a tea towel.

When the Doctor opened the door, Jackie's smile faded. Without greeting her, he carried an unconscious Rose straight to her old bedroom.

"What happened?" she said sharply. "What did you do to her?"

"Shhh, Jackie," he said softly, but his voice still showed his irritation. "Wait till I get her in her bed."

With great effort, Jackie waited while the Doctor gently put Rose in bed, only removing her jacket and trainers before he pulled a blanket over her too-still form. Before he had even closed her bedroom door, she lay into him.

"What's wrong with Rose? What happened?"

The Doctor took a deep breath, steeling himself for the conversation. "She's going to be alright, Jackie. She got bitten by a worm, well, a bunch of worms, and she had a bad reaction to it, but she should be fine." He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably and sighed. "Well, I say fine, really it's more like mostly fine. I think."

Jackie blanched and her hands flew to her mouth. If the Doctor wasn't even certain how Rose was going to be…

"Oh, no," she whispered wide-eyed. "Is she gonna die?"

His expression lightened. "Oh, no, no, no," he tried to reassure her. "As far as her health is concerned, she will be alright. It's just… the kind of worm she was bitten by can cause amnesia. Possibly permanently. Now I tried to counteract the effects while we were in the TARDIS, but we won't know if it works until she wakes up. In the meantime I need to move the TARDIS. I'm just going to park her around the corner. If she sees it before she's ready to, it could make the situation worse." He moved to enter his ship.

"Doctor, wait," Jackie said and the Doctor turned to her. "How much memory has she lost?"

"Probably three years." And with that he left the room and the TARDIS dematerialized.

With moments he was back. Not bothering to knocking, he used his sonic screwdriver to unlock the door and enter the flat. He sank down next to her on the sofa.

"Three years, huh?" she asked without preamble. "So she won't remember you."

He shook his head. "And that may be for the best," he said softly.

She looked at him sharply. "What do you mean?" Jackie demanded. "What did you do?"

"I gave her a flower," he said. His elbow on his knee, he dropped his head into his hand and rubbed his forehead. "It was just a flower. Should have been perfectly safe. If she is in danger even when we are somewhere where she should be safe…" He looked up at her. "I'm leaving her here. I'll give you the number to the TARDIS," he said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen and paper and proceeded to write it down. He handed it to her, along with Rose's mobile. "I've erased my number from her phone as well as all of her pictures," he said. Then he gestured at the small scrap of paper he had given her. "If you need anything, anything at all, no matter what it is, big or small… you call that number. And please… " His voice broke a little, and he swallowed hard. "Please, can you call once in a while and tell me how she's doing?"

"Of course," she said, patting his arm and staring at him. "Y'know, this is not like you. Usually you'd just take off wi' 'er regardless."

"Jackie, it's important she doesn't have any sudden shocks. She can know about the memory loss, you can even try to trigger some of her memories if you like, but you mustn't do anything drastic, like tell her about me or remind her of the TARDIS. It could be such a shock to her system that she could lose even more memories."

The door to Rose's room opened and Rose walked out, yawning. "I can't believe it. I musta fallen asleep in my clothes again. Were Shareen and I out late last night or somethin'? And where did I get this top? Is it one of hers? I really don't remember. I musta been really pissed last night if I can't even remember what I was wearin' or where I got it. And what happened to my hair? Someone cut off about eight inches of it." She walked into the small sitting room and saw the Doctor with her mother.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, yawning again. "Have we met?"

She didn't remember him. The neurotransmitters he had given her hadn't worked.

He shook his head. "No. John Smith." He stood and offered his hand, which Rose shook. "Jackie, I've really got to get going," he said, looking over his shoulder at Rose's mother. Turning back to Rose, he said. "Pleasure meeting you."

"Yeah, nice to meet you, too," she replied, smiling at him, and his hearts broke. As he walked towards the door, he heard her sit down on the couch next to Jackie.

"Not your usual type, yeah? He's kinda cute. And I like the pinstripes. Whatever happened to Charlie at the pub?"

"Oh, that's been over ages ago," he heard Jackie reply. "And he and I aren't like that. I've been seein' Howard."

"Howard? From the shop? How long has this been goin' on…"

He walked out of the flat and quietly closed the door.


	5. Chapter 5-- Six Months

**Chapter 5—Six Months**

Over the next six months, the Doctor wandered aimlessly in the TARDIS. He set it on random, not knowing, or caring, where he would end up. Occasionally, he would see a glimpse of a pink top or bright blonde hair and his hearts would squeeze painfully. At other times he'd almost forget, turning to mention something to Rose, only to remember that she wasn't there.

Would probably never be there again.

Occasionally he went to check on her… just to see how she was doing. At least, that's what he told himself. Once in a while he'd go and watch her building just on the chance that he'd see her coming or going. A few times he went to the chippy in the Powell Estate that she liked. Once he had even stood behind her in a queue at the local Tesco. For the most part he tried to not let her see him, but when she did she didn't seem to recognize him.

And, to his surprise, Jackie was as good as her word. She called at least once a week to keep him posted on Rose's progress.

"_Doctor, I did as you suggested and told her about the memory loss. I had to. She thought she still worked at Henrik's. She was surprised at first, but she is coping well with it, I think."_

"_Doctor, she ended up getting a new job at the Chinese takeaway down the street. She doesn't really like it, but at least it's somethin' and it gets her out of the flat."_

"_Doctor, I did as you suggested and took her to some of the places you've been around here. But I'm sorry, I can't afford some of the others…"_

"_Doctor, thanks for the money you sent. I don't know how you got it, and I don't wanna know. Rose always said you never carried any. Anyway, I'll be takin' her to Cardiff this weekend… and then Scotland in a few weeks." _

"_Doctor, we ran into that friend of yours, Sarah Jane somethin' or other? When Rose wasn't listenin', Sarah Jane told me that you had arranged it. It didn't help. Rose didn't remember her at all. I'm sorry but nothin' seems to be workin'. She knows she's not eighteen anymore, but she hasn't remembered anythin' from the years she's missin'. And she's asked about Mickey a few times. I finally had to tell her he went travelin' and won't be back for a while. I hated lyin' to her, but what could I do?"_

"_Doctor, she's been so depressed. She doesn't wanna go out with her friends, not even Shareen and Keisha. When she's not at work she mostly just hangs around the flat. It's like she knows there's somethin' missin' in her life, somethin' big. Sometimes she just goes up to the roof and stares at the stars. It's been goin' on a while now… actually, it's been goin' on the whole time but I didn't want to worry you."_

"_Doctor, we need to talk. In person. No, it's nothin' like that. She's alright. But I need to talk to you and Rose'll be at work the rest of the afternoon, so I'd suggest you and that box of yours show up here right away."_

Within seconds of Jackie's last phone call, she heard the familiar wheezing and groaning of the TARDIS in her flat.

As the Doctor emerged through the doors, Jackie noticed that rather than his normal, fairly neat appearance, his hair was a mess, his pinstriped jacket was undone and his brown and blue swirly tie was askew. And his eyes were red-rimmed. And he hadn't shaved recently.

And Jackie would never have thought it possible, but he looked even thinner than before.

She had never seen him look so unkempt, not this him nor the one he had been before he changed.

"Well, that didn't take long," she said, deciding not to say anything about how he looked.

"Time Lord," he replied. "Time machine."

There was a flatness to his tone that concerned her. When she had first met him, she would have never thought that she'd be concerned about him, but she was.

"Yeah, and what was that twelve hour, twelve month thing about, then?"

He sighed. "Jackie, I'm here. What do you want?" he asked.

"What I want is for you to sit down. I made a fresh pot of tea before I called you." She jerked her head towards the kitchen.

They sat down at the tiny table and she watched as he poured a tiny bit of milk and about four teaspoons of sugar into his cup. She wrinkled her nose.

"Even I don't like it_ that_ sweet," she said.

He took a sip of his tea and then sat back and watched her, arms crossed, waiting her out.

She stared back at him, eyebrow raised.

He gave in first. "Jackie, this is ridiculous. What do you want?"

"It's like I said on the phone," she said. "We need to talk. Or rather, I need to talk and you need to listen." She narrowed her eyes at him. "I never, ever thought I'd say this, but I think you should come back. Y'know, when you sent Rose home that time before you changed, you did the right thing, trying to keep her safe. And I know you're tryin' to do the right thing by her again. Well, you're not the only one who can do the right thing. As much as I want her home, I think she needs to be with you. She misses you, even though she doesn't realize it."

Resting his elbows on the table, he dropped his head into his hands. "Jackie, I can't."

"Doctor, I've tried everything you've asked, and nothin's worked. Maybe if she were with you, she'd start to remember things. C'mon, you're always braggin' about that brilliant Time Lord brain of yours. Surely you've thought of somethin' that can get her memories back."

Looking up sharply, he met her eyes. "Jackie Tyler, you don't know, you have no idea what you're asking. And if you did, there's no way on Earth you'd ever ask it."

"C'mon, she misses you, and I know you miss her. Otherwise you wouldn't be havin' me call so often, and you certainly wouldn't have shown up here so fast. And you're obviously not takin' care of yourself. You look a right mess."

He didn't answer her. The truth was, he didn't even have the energy to glare at her.

"Just go see her. Talk to her. Maybe she'll remember something."

He took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. "Jackie, she doesn't remember me. Talking to her isn't going to change that."

"You don't know that," Jackie replied. She looked him over again, from his messy hair and unshaven face, to his wrinkled suit and untied Converse. "Doctor, you've got to try. For your sake as well as hers, you've got to at least try."


	6. Chapter 6-- The Club, part deux

**Chapter Six—The Club, part deux **

"C'mon, Rose," Shareen said. "You've been back six months and we've hardly even seen each other. And we haven't gone out once."

Sitting on the bed in Shareen's flat, Rose watched as her childhood friend tried on outfits for a night of clubbing. So far Shareen had tried on at least six outfits, all designed to hug her rather voluptuous curves. Despite being fairly thin, Shareen definitely filled out, and spilled out of, her bra. Currently she had a tight-fitting turquoise t-shirt on with a v neck that did nothing to hide her considerable… assets, and she was trying to pull on a short leather skirt over her hips.

"Shareen, I just don't feel like going," Rose told her.

"I don't get it," Shareen said in surprise, looking down at the skirt. "I used to wear this all the time."

"Yeah, when you were fifteen, maybe," Rose replied dryly.

"Rose, you've got to come. One drink, couple of dances." She pulled off the skirt and threw it at Rose. "You can wear that. It'll fit you better anyway. You've lost a lot of weight since you've been back home." She went back into her closet and pulled out a pair of tight black jeans. "Besides, I don't wanna go alone and Keisha can't come, not now that she's got a new boyfriend."

Rose rolled her eyes. But Shareen had always been there for her her whole life, particularly since she had lost her memory and returned home from God knows where. Her mum wouldn't tell her where she'd been, and Shareen only knew that Rose had been 'traveling'. She wondered if she had been traveling with Mickey, since when she had asked, her mum had said he was 'traveling'. If she had, maybe they had had a falling out. After all, she cared for Mickey, but she had always known he wasn't _the one_. If there was such a thing as _the one_. Frankly, after her experience with Jimmy Stone, she doubted there was.

"Please, please, please," Shareen begged. "C'mon, you can't just sit in your mum's flat watching the telly every night."

"Well, that's for sure," Rose replied. "She's drivin' me absolutely spare. When I'm home, all she does is hover over me. Or do really weird things. Y'know, she made me go to Wales with her one weekend? Cardiff. Three hour bus ride there, three hour bus ride back, and while we were there all she wanted to do is go to some restaurant by the bay and walk around some Plaza. It was so weird. She even decided to haul me off to Scotland once, and once we got there all we did is ride around on some tour bus. I swear, she must be losin' it."

Rose paused for a moment. "Shareen, if I promise to go with you, will you answer a couple of questions for me? Cos Mum won't tell me anythin'."

"Rose, you don't even need to ask. I'll do it even if you don't come."

"Okay," Rose said. "You told me that I was travelin' during most of the time that I don't remember. Do you know where I went? And whether I was with Mickey?"

"Mickey?" Shareen replied, astonished. "No, you weren't with Mickey. Mickey was here. You went missin' for a year, and your mother was beside herself with worry. She thought Mickey killed you and had him hauled up in front of the police."

Rose's jaw dropped. "You're kidding. Seriously?"

Shareen nodded. "And I have no idea where you went, but you were with some older guy. I never met him, but I saw you with him once. I'm guessin' he was about forty. Really short hair, big ears and nose, and you know what they say about guys with big ears and noses…" Her mouth twisted into a smirk. "I figured you were getting' somethin' from him that you couldn't get from Mickey." She raised her eyebrows suggestively.

"Shut up," Rose replied. She tried to remember anything about that time, particularly the man Shareen had described… but there was nothing.

"Anyway, after you came back, you took off again, you'd pop back occasionally, and then nothin' until you showed up six months ago not rememberin' anythin'.

Rose sighed. It was all one big blank spot. Like the last three years of her life had never happened. "Alright," she said finally. "I promised I'd go with you if you told me. But just one drink, and maybe one or two dances, and then I am going home."

"Yay! You don't even need to go home to get something to wear. You can borrow some of my stuff." Shareen grinned. "I'm gonna play dress-up Barbie with a life sized version. Total makeover, cos you certainly can't go clubbing in jeans and a hoodie. So go ahead, kit off and we'll find something for you to wear."

A half-hour and at least fifteen tops scattered on the floor, Rose was, for at least the fifth time, regretting her promise to go to the club with Shareen.

"Something red," Shareen was yelling from the back of her walk-in closet, the closet being the primary reason Shareen had chosen this particular flat. Truth be told, the closet was probably the only thing the flat had going for it.

"What?" Rose yelled back from her position on the bed.

"Something red," Shareen yelled again.

"What?" Rose yelled back.

Shareen stuck her head out of the closet. "Something…" When she saw Rose grinning at her, she stuck out her tongue at her. "You need to wear something red. And that skirt. And I told you to kit off a half hour ago. If we don't get going, we'll never even get in."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Rose replied. "Alright, I'll try on the skirt. And whatever top you find. And then I have to call my mum so she doesn't worry about me."

Shareen disappeared back into the closet again. "Aha! I found it. And it's absolutely perfect." She walked out of the closet holding a silky scrap of cloth in her hands.

"So what is it, a scarf or something?" Rose asked.

"A scarf!" Shareen was indignant. "No, it's a top. A designer top that cost me forty quid, I'll have you know."

"For that thing? Seriously?"

"It's a halter top. You tie it at the neck and the waist," Shareen said. "Try it on. It's dead sexy."

With a roll of her eyes, Rose pulled off her t-shirt and bra and tied on the top. Well, there was one thing going for it. Even with no back, it was less revealing than the skin-tight top Shareen was wearing. She surveyed herself in the mirror, wrinkling her nose a bit. "I dunno. 'S not really my style. And wouldn't you get cold in it?"

Now Shareen rolled her eyes. "That's what the dancing's for, dumbo. And with that top and that skirt, you are definitely going to do some dancing."

"Well, if I'm gonna wear this, there's no way you're wearin' jeans, so find somethin' else. And you gotta loan me a jacket or somethin' cos there is no way I'm walkin' on the street in this."

"We're gonna be in the club, not in the street," Shareen argued.

"God, you're an idiot sometimes, Shareen," Rose said with a sigh. "We actually gotta get there."

Rose pulled on the skirt while Shareen lost herself in the depths of her closet again.

"You're lucky we're still the same shoe size," Shareen said when she emerged with a pile of clothes. "Cos you can't wear those trainers with that skirt. It would be a crime against fashion." She held out two pairs of knee-high black boots. She threw one pair on the bed, as well as a short black leather jacket before she shimmied out of her own jeans and pulled on a skirt similar to Rose's.

As she picked up the jacket and put it on, Rose blinked. There was something about a leather jacket… But then Shareen started talking again and she lost it.

"Four inch heels, that skirt, and even you will look like your legs are six feet long."

"Like I want six foot long legs." Rose shook her head.

"Maybe you don't, but the blokes do," Shareen smirked.

"I'm goin' with you, and I promised I'd dance, but I am not goin' to pick up some bloke at a club."

"Ya never know," Shareen said. "Okay, call yer mum, then hair and makeup and we'll go."

* * *

After Rose rang off, Jackie quickly dialed another number. "She and Shareen are goin' to a club. You know which one. Yeah, that one. You get yourself over there before they get there. And clean yourself up and shave. Rose won't look at you twice if you look like a bum."

* * *

Rose followed Shareen through the set of double doors into the club. Well, at least this she remembered, Rose thought. Low lights, pounding music, the smell of spilled beer… How many times had she and Shareen gone clubbing after she and Jimmy broke up? And all the clubs were essentially like this one. Funny, she had always loved going to the clubs to go dancing, but now being here just made her feel… lonely.

Shareen was saying something to her, but over the bass she couldn't hear her.

"What?" she shouted.

Shareen rolled her eyes.

"No, seriously. I can't hear you," Rose shouted.

"I said, gimme your jacket. I'm gonna see if I can grab a table. You go get us a couple a beers, 'kay?"

Rose nodded, an exaggerated movement to make up for the fact that Shareen wouldn't have been able to hear any answer anyway, and handed her her jacket.

Shareen headed off, looking like a girl on a mission, and Rose wandered through the narrow paths between tables, dodging people and trying to make her way in the general direction of the bar. She pressed her hands to her ears for a moment. She never would have guessed she'd ever think the music of a club would be too loud. She must just not be used to it anymore. Weird.

Finally she got to the bar and placed her order.

"How many?" the bartender shouted.

"Two," she shouted back.

As the bartender turned around to grab a couple of bottles, she looked around and the man next to her caught her eye. Absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, she thought, with dark, slightly messy hair and sideburns. He seemed a little out of place wearing a brown pinstriped suit, a white Oxford shirt and some sort of dark tie, unlike the other blokes in the place who were mostly wearing skintight jeans and jumpers, but the outfit seemed to suit him somehow.

He turned when he realized she was looking at him. Oh, God, his dark brown eyes were almost more gorgeous than he was.

"Hello," she fairly shouted over the pounding bass. She grinned at him.

"Hello," he shouted back and returned her grin.

"Oi," the bartender shouted, and Rose turned to see him holding out a couple of bottles for her. She passed him a couple of bills and took the beer from him.

She turned back to the gorgeous bloke. "Well, see ya," she said.

He nodded in return, and she noticed he had kind of a funny look on his face.

Rose had an overwhelming urge to stay and get to know him, after all he really was gorgeous, but the last time she had chatted up some good looking bloke in a club she had ended up dropping out of school, having him cheat on her and steal eight hundred quid from her. Never again.

On the other hand, Jimmy had never worn anything like a pinstriped suit. That suit had to count for something.

Shareen was standing up and waving her arms, so Rose reluctantly left the handsome bloke and made her way across the club again.

"What took so long?" Shareen demanded loudly. She grabbed one of the beers and took a big swig from it, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand afterwards.

"Nothin'… 'S just, there was someone at the bar. I dunno," Rose said.

"Really? I knew that outfit would work," Shareen squealed. She stood up and tried to look over and around the people between her and the bar. Finally she gave up and stood on her chair to get a better look. "Which one?" she asked.

"Guy in the suit," Rose responded, and drank from her own bottle.

"Seriously?" Shareen said, wrinkling her nose as she looking down at her. "He's too thin. Now the bloke two guys down from him, he's a bit of alright." She got off the chair, sat down on it and took another long swig from her bottle. "So what's so special about him?" she asked.

"I dunno," Rose said, shaking her head. She felt slightly confused. "There's just something about him. I dunno."

"You think you know him, y'know, from the time you can't remember?"

Rose shook her head. "I don't think so. He didn't seem to know me."

Shareen craned her neck to look back at the bar. "Well, maybe he likes you. He's lookin' over here."

Rose rolled her eyes. "And it couldn't be because some nutcase in a too tight blue top was standing on her chair lookin' at the bar a minute ago. I'm guessing half the club has looked over here." She took another swig from her own bottle.

Shareen stuck out her tongue at her and then finished her beer.

"Hurry up," she said, shaking her finger at Rose. "You promised me you were gonna dance."


	7. Chapter 7-- Dancing

**Chapter Seven- Dancing**

Rose reluctantly let Shareen haul her out onto the dance floor. Normally she would have loved all this, the floor crowded with dancers, the flashing lights, the pounding music, but now it just made her feel… empty. At Shareen's prodding, she danced with the first guy who asked, not even noticing what he looked like. Might as well, she thought. She had promised to dance twice and this was the first one. At the end of the song he wanted to continue, but she said no. She didn't want to give him the wrong idea. The next song she agreed to dance with some other random bloke and felt she had fulfilled her promise. Halfway through the song she thought, okay, had one beer, danced twice, and now she could head home.

"Hey, Rose." Shareen, who was dancing next to her, leaned towards her and yelled in her ear over the sound of the music. "Your friend's headed this way. Look over there."

"What?" Rose craned her neck and tried to see through the crowd of people. Sure enough, the bloke with the really great hair and pinstripes was headed her direction. It didn't hurt that he was tall; she could spot him over most of the crowd.

"See," Shareen yelled, "Told you he likes you."

As she watched, for a moment he seemed to hesitate and he looked like he was going to turn around and head back the way he came. And then there was something in his body language, almost like he was steeling himself up to do something difficult, and he continued his way to the dance floor.

The song ended and Rose felt Shareen shove her in the direction of the man in the pinstripes. Unable to stop herself, she staggered a few steps and came to a stop right in front of him. She gaped, looking up at him. God, he really was gorgeous, she thought. When she realized her mouth was open, she abruptly shut it.

"Hello, again," he said with a smile.

"Hello," she responded, thankful that the next song hadn't started yet, and they only had to talk over the volume of the crowd of people in the room. Which was loud enough to make talking difficult all by itself, she thought.

He just stood there grinning at her. _He's got a great smile_, she thought. _Lights up his whole face._ But he didn't seem to know what to say next, or at least he wasn't saying anything.

"Uh, did you want to ask me to dance?" she asked hesitantly.

"Did you want me to ask you to dance?" he asked, just as hesitantly.

_Oh, Lord, he's not one of those_, she thought, _the kind of person who answers a question with a question._ She sighed, rolled her eyes and moved to turn away.

"Wait," he said quickly, and she turned back to face him. "I, uh, did want to ask you to dance, but I don't really know how, to dance I mean. Well, I do know how to dance, a lot of different kinds of dances actually, in fact I've danced a lot over the years at one point or another, but…" He paused, looking like he was embarrassed by the rambling monologue that had just come out of his mouth. "But," he said slowly and deliberately, "I don't know how to dance like, well, that." He gestured at the people behind her.

"Oh, that's easy. I'll teach you," Rose answered, automatically taking his hand and leading him out to the dance floor. The music had started again, so she shouted instructions at him. "Okay, you just basically move to the beat of the music." She demonstrated, moving in time to the beat, hands over her head. She watched as he attempted to move to the music. "You may want to move your feet; you'll find them at the end of your legs," she said cheekily.

He gaped at her for a second and then grinned, a wide, pleased smile.

"See, you're a natural," she continued as he followed her instructions, not exactly certain how to interpret his reaction to her previous comment. "Now we'll do something a bit more advanced." She grabbed his hands and put them on her hips and placed her hands on his shoulders. To her surprise, she felt her heart rate speed up as she felt his thumbs skim over the bare skin just above her skirt. She tried not to let it distract her from her own dancing. During the next song, after they had been dancing that way for a while, she motioned for him to bend down a bit and she shouted in his ear over the music.

"Last lesson, okay? Now, instead of facing each other, we dance close but I face the other direction. You keep your hands on my hips and keep dancing behind me." She saw his eyes widen, and then he nodded. She turned to face the other direction. Instead of feeling his hands on her hips, though, she shivered as she felt his hands move to the bare skin between her skirt and her top. Even though in this position she couldn't see him, she could feel his presence behind her as a tingle in her skin that went from her head to her toes. Heart now decidedly racing, she backed up just enough until she felt the wool of his jacket on her bare back, and a tiny, rebellious part of her wondered if he were as turned on as she was. She reached one arm backwards and touched the back of his neck with her hand, and she felt him move closer still.

They danced to three more songs that way, sometimes with him behind her, sometimes with her facing him, his hands on her bare waist, till at the end they were practically pressed up together constantly whichever position they were in. Finally, she had had enough. Oh, not of dancing with him, she had loved that, much more than she thought possible. But she had had enough of the music that was making her head pound and her ears hurt.

"Listen," she said, shouting in his ear. "Do you want to go and get a coffee? The volume is kinda getting to me."

He nodded, not even trying to shout over the pounding bass.

"I just gotta grab my jacket, 'kay? Why don't you just meet me by the door."

He grinned at her, _God, he has a great grin_, and headed off while she found Shareen, who was being chatted up by some guy at their table. She bent down and shouted to her that she was leaving. Shareen glanced over at the door and evidently saw him because she grinned and gave her an _I told you so_ look, and then she gave her two thumbs up. Rose just shook her head. Shareen could be such a dork sometimes, she thought. She put on the jacket Shareen had lent her and met him at the door.

Once outside she sighed in relief.

"God, that's better. I swear, it was so loud I felt like my ears were starting to bleed."

He laughed. "Me, too."

"Say, I don't even know your name," Rose said. She thrust out her hand. "I'm Rose. Rose Tyler."

He shook her hand, grinning crookedly. "I'm the Doc…" He cleared his throat. "Doctor John Smith," he said.

"Really?" she said. "What, like a medical doctor?"

"No," he replied. "A doctor of physics, actually. Primarily, temporal and astrophysics."

She shook her head. "I don't even know what that is."

He laughed. "Don't worry about it. Most people don't."

She grinned at him. "So, do you wanna get that coffee?"

"Actually," he began, "I thought…"

Oh, Lord, she thought, coffee was one thing, but she was _so_ not picking up a guy in a club, no matter how good looking he was.

"I thought maybe you'd like to get something to eat," he said, yanking on his left ear. "There's a great place for chips just around the corner."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, I could murder a plate of chips. I haven't eaten all day. You must have read my mind."

He blinked and stared at her.

"Well, come on," she said, grabbing his hand, finding it slightly odd that it felt so natural. "Let's go get those chips."


	8. Chapter 8-- And Chips

**Chapter Eight—And Chips**

Sitting across from Rose, eating chips and drinking pop, was so wonderful after not being able to for so long it threatened to bring tears to his eyes. Or make him start to whistle. Or maybe quote from Lady and the Tramp… the Doctor couldn't decide which. Something was threatening to burst out from inside of him, that was for certain. And after the past six months, he had fairly bounced on his toes on the way to the chippy after she had taken his hand.

She didn't know him. She didn't remember him. And that still hurt. Particularly when he had purchased a huge platter of chips for them to share as well as a couple of drinks, and he knew that Rose wouldn't be teasing him about not paying for the chips the first time they went out.

And yet she had quoted something she had said to his previous incarnation and now here they were, sitting across from each other, laughing and eating chips like they had so many times before. And so he felt happy and sad about it, both at the same time. But after living through the past six months, he felt mostly happy.

Sitting on opposite sides of a booth by the window, the plate of chips sat between them and they took turns stabbing them with their forks and eating them while they talked. At one point, they both reached forward to spear the same chip at the same time and their fingertips brushed against one another. As if they had received an electrical shock they quickly pulled their hands back, almost in embarrassment. Which was surprising considering the fact they had held hands on the way to the restaurant. Not to mention the type of dancing they had done in the club. Really, really brilliant dancing, he thought. Beyond brilliant, in fact. Marvelous. Awesome. Okay, maybe not that last one.

Unbidden, a list of planets where that type of dancing would result of prosecution came to mind, and he resolved to never bring Rose to any of them. Another list, places where that type of dancing was encouraged, almost required by law, also came to mind, and after their time in the club he had the sudden urge to bring Rose to each and every one, and insist she wear the same outfit she was wearing now.

But of course if she never regained her memory he wouldn't be bringing her anywhere. He couldn't risk it. The shock of seeing the TARDIS could cause her to lose even more memories.

But at least they were having chips.

Rose speared another one, popped it in her mouth and moaned in pleasure. Her reaction was so familiar, so her, that he couldn't seem to wipe the grin off his face.

"These are gorgeous," she said. "You have no idea how hungry I was." She ate another chip before she continued. "Y'know, I work in a Chinese takeaway. You'd think they'd let you have some food while you were there, even just an egg roll or somethin', but no. You've got to buy it, without even a discount. And the food is absolute…" She stopped, and he could tell she was censoring herself, something he knew she rarely did. He had heard her swear countless times. She had even been known to swear at him, but of course she didn't remember that.

"Anyway, the food is terrible, and it's overpriced, so there's no way I'd ever buy it for full price. Don't ever go there," she recommended.

He laughed. "If it's so bad, why do you work there?"

It was obviously the wrong thing to say, because she stopped cold and looked away from him. "Right now I don't have any other choice," she finally said quietly. "I used to work in a shop. Didn't like it all that much, but it was alright, especially compared to the takeaway. But I haven't worked there in a long time." She looked up and smiled at him, the false smile she always wore when she was putting on a brave front. "Who knows, maybe I'll go back and work there again."

She took a sip of her pop and then leaned back, cocked her head to the side and stared at him, a puzzled look on her face.

"What?" the Doctor asked.

She sighed and shook her head. "'S just, you seem familiar somehow. Like I know you from somewhere or something."

"Really?" he asked. It was extremely unlikely her memory was coming back, he reminded himself, but it was possible that subconsciously something was trying to break through the barrier he had seen in her mind. After all, she had made that comment about dancing while they had been at the club. Still, he knew he needed to not get his hopes up too high.

"Yeah," she said, nodding. "You look really familiar." She looked at him for a moment longer and then her face lit up in realization. "Oh, I know," she exclaimed. "I saw you at Tesco."

"Yeah, that must be it," he sighed. She only remembered him from an incident in the past few weeks. He tried to bury his disappointment. "Ah, well, you know what they say about Tesco," he continued brightly, putting on a false grin.

"No, what?"

"That if you stay in one long enough you will eventually see everyone you have ever met."

She burst out laughing. "Oh, really? They say that, do they?"

"Well, if they don't, they should," he grinned.

After she had stopped laughing, she said, "So, John, what does someone with a doctorate in physics do?"

He had told Rose himself that his name was John Smith, but he hadn't expected it to hurt so much for her to call him John. The disappointment he felt must have shown in his face because she immediately said, "Did I say something wrong?"

He quickly shook his head. "No, no, of course not. It's just, no one ever really calls me John."

"What do they call you, then?" she asked curiously.

He cleared his throat. "Well, people call me the Doctor, actually," he said, yanking on one ear.

"The Doctor," she deadpanned.

"Yep," he replied, popping the 'p' and nodding.

"Just 'the Doctor'."

"Yep," he said again. "Bit of a nickname."

Rose leaned back, arms crossed, and stared at him, considering. Finally she nodded and said, "It suits you. Don't know why, but it suits you."

The Doctor grinned and picked up his pop, taking a long sip through his straw.

"So, Doctor," she said, "what does someone with a doctorate in physics do? Teach? Do research? You said astrophysics, that's like astronomy, right? So do you look for aliens from outer space?"

His eyebrows shot up and he almost spit out his pop all over her. He quickly swallowed and then succumbed to a coughing fit.

"Whaa, whaa…" he said, trying to pull himself together. "What makes you ask that?"

"I dunno," she said. He saw her trying very hard not to laugh at him. "I guess too much Star Trek. You know, you watch enough of that as a kid and you start to believe aliens are real." She paused for a moment, obviously waiting for him to say something, but for the life of him he couldn't remember what the question was. "So…"

"So?"

She sighed loudly. "So what do you do?"

"Oh," he said. "Sorry, forgot the question. Well, normally someone with a degree in physics can do all sorts of things, including teaching, doing research, and looking for aliens, I guess, but right now…"

She raised an eyebrow.

He cleared his throat. "Right now I'm kinda… between positions."

Now she raised both eyebrows. "Really?" she asked.

He shrugged in a way that he hoped appeared apologetic.

She got a mischievous grin. "Well, if you need a job, I do know this Chinese takeaway that's hiring right now. The food's lousy, the pay's worse, but it's somethin'."

"Thanks for letting me know," he grinned. "If it's the one I'm thinking of, there's this girl who works there… might make working there worth it despite the bad food and the even worse pay."

"Yeah?" She grinned at him, tongue just touching her teeth flirtatiously, and he felt both of his hearts flip. He hadn't really ever expected to see that smile again, at least not directed at him.

"Yeah."


	9. Chapter 9-- Walking Home

**Chapter Nine—Walking Home**

Elbow on the table, Rose rested her head in her hand and watched him in fascination. It was obvious that John, no, the Doctor she reminded herself, was absolutely brilliant. Rose had been convinced of that after the first five minutes of talking to him in the chippy, but beyond being brilliant he knew the most amazing amounts of trivia. In the same conversation, he had quoted Plato, Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Harry Potter and the Lion King. He seemed to know the lyrics to every Elvis Presley song as well as every Beatles song ever produced. He said he could point out every constellation and knew the names of the stars in each of them, and then had tried to prove it to her by drawing a fair number of them on a napkin with a pen he had pulled from his pocket. He even could do some magic tricks, somehow managing to brighten and dim the overhead lights in the chippy with a wave of his hand. She had wondered how he had managed to do that, but she had had no doubt he was responsible. She eventually guessed he had some kind of electronic device that could affect the lights because she was convinced she had heard a whirring sound coming from his direction, which he denied causing in an overly innocent tone. She had even gone so far as to look under the table, to his amusement, but she didn't see anything.

To her amazement, he even knew the storylines for every character that had ever appeared in EastEnders since the show started.

"Oh, that's my mum's favorite show," she said when she found that out. "If you like it, you and she should watch it together sometime." She bit her lip to hide her grin at the absolutely stricken look that had come over his face. How did she know he'd react that way? Because she had. She had been absolutely certain he'd get a look exactly like that on his face when she talked about her mum. Finally she decided it just had to do with blokes and mums in general.

It was odd, though. When she had been looking at him, trying to figure out where she had seen him before, for a second she could have sworn she saw a flash of piercing blue eyes, but it left as suddenly as it had arrived. And it couldn't mean anything, couldn't have anything to do with him. After all, people couldn't change their eye color. And when he had drawn the constellations for her, he had put on a pair of glasses, so he couldn't be wearing colored contacts.

Finally, the counter clerk at the chippy told them it was closing time. Rose looked around the room in surprise. What had been a fairly crowded chip shop when they had gotten there was now empty of everyone except the employees and the two of them.

After they had walked outside, they paused by the door as one of the employees locked it behind them.

"Well," Rose said, "I don't live very far from here, so…" She jerked her head in the direction of Bucknall House. She paused for a moment. "I, uh, had a really nice time tonight."

The Doctor grinned at her. "Me, too," he said and she smiled back.

"Well, I'm just gonna go, then," she said and reluctantly started to leave.

"Rose," the Doctor said, "would you mind if I, uh, walked you home? It's just, it's getting pretty late…"

Inwardly she was amused. She had lived on the Estate her whole life and knew how to take care of herself. And she only lived a few blocks away. But if he wanted to play the gentleman, who was she to argue? It was kinda sweet.

"Okay," she said, almost shyly.

As they began to walk, he took her hand and she was surprised again at how natural it felt to be holding hands with him. As they approached Bucknall House, they walked slower and slower, as if they were both reluctant for the evening to end. At least Rose knew she was. Finally they reached her building.

"Well, this is it," she said.

The Doctor nodded.

"I guess I'll see you around," she said and slowly turned to go.

"Rose," he said.

"Yeah?" She turned back to face him.

"Would it be," he began, "would it be alright if I saw you again?"

She grinned. "Yeah, I'd like that." She paused. "Can I borrow your pen?" she asked.

He looked puzzled but pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to her. She grabbed his hand and wrote down a couple of numbers on his palm. "This one's my mobile, and this is the one to my flat."

He laughed. "You know I had paper as well."

"But this way you can't lose them," she said cheekily, and she handed the pen back to him, grinning.

He raised an eyebrow at her, grinned and grabbed her hand. "And this," he said, copying her by writing a long number on her palm, "is how to get in touch with me." After shoving the pen back in his pocket, he looked at her and turned more serious. "You can ring me any time, day or night."

Tilting her head and biting her lip, she looked up at him. "Okay."

They stood there staring at each other, both reluctant to leave. Finally she turned to head in.

"Rose," he said in a low voice, and she turned back again. "Can I… would it be alright if I…" He stared at her intently and took a step closer.

"What?" she asked, licking her lips nervously.

"This," he said. Quickly closing the distance between them, he took her face in his hands and kissed her.

Wide eyed, she froze for a second, and he immediately backed away from her and began to apologize.

"Rose, I'm sorry…" he said.

"No, don't be sorry," she told him before grabbing him by the lapels and kissing him back.

He didn't seem to know what to do with his hands at first, finally settling on putting one on her back to pull her firmly to himself, tangling the fingers of the other through her hair. Almost immediately she felt him take control. The tip of his tongue touched her lips, coaxing her to open her mouth, and she did, allowing him to deepen the kiss. She lost herself for a moment, her entire awareness focusing on his lips and his tongue, feeling him first gently suck on her lower lip, then caress her tongue with his own. He kissed her slowly, leisurely, as if they had all the time in the world, and for a moment it almost felt to Rose as if they were completely outside time, almost as if time had stopped. At some point she realized she could feel the hard, rough surface of the brick building behind her back, and for a second she wondered how she had gotten there. Then she decided she didn't care and wrapped her arms tightly around him in an attempt to draw him closer.

Finally he broke away and looked deeply into her eyes. Raising one hand to her face, he gently stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers. "G'night, Rose," he said softly, gave her one more quick kiss and then turned and left, walking around the corner of the building.

She stood there, breathless, trusting the building to support her because she knew her legs certainly wouldn't. After a moment she followed him around the edge of the building to see which direction he went, but to her surprise he wasn't there.

On her way up to the flat, she almost felt like she was floating. She had met someone. She had actually met someone. And he was nice, not like that loser Jimmy who she had wasted way too much time on. He was nice and smart and funny and handsome, can't forget handsome, and he really seemed to like her.

And God, was he a good kisser.

Once in the flat, she knocked on her mum's door to let her know she was home, not wanting to stick her head in the door just in case Howard was over, and then she headed to her own room.

Later, after she had gone to bed, she heard the sound of her mobile ringing. She quickly grabbed it off of her nightstand, hoping it hadn't woken up her mother.

"Hello," she said quietly.

"_Hello,"_ he said. _"Is it alright that I rang?"_

"Was hopin' you would," she said, smiling to herself.

"_Yeah?"_

"Uh huh. Wouldn't have given you my number otherwise."

"_Oh. Well, that's good," _he said, and she could picture him smiling._ " Anyway, I, uh, was wondering if I could see you tomorrow. If that's alright."_

She smirked. "You rang me in the middle of the night to ask me for a date?"

"_Well, no. Actually I rang just because I wanted to hear your voice, but I thought, as long as I've got you on the phone…"_

She laughed as she glanced at the clock on the nightstand. "It's 2:00. Do you mean tonight or tomorrow night?"

"_Both, actually."_

"Okay."

"_Okay?"_

"Yeah," she answered.

"_Oh, good. Great. Brilliant, really,"_ he said, and somehow she could _hear_ his grin in his voice. _"Well, then, I'll ring you later."_

"You'd better," she said.

"_G'night again, Rose."_

"G'night, Doctor," she said. And after she rang off and put her mobile back on the nightstand, she lay back in her bed, bit her lip and grinned.


	10. Chapter 10-- Dating

**Chapter Ten— Dating**

The next few hours passed incredibly slowly for the Doctor. He didn't know how humans could stand it, living one minute after another, waiting for something to happen. He was tempted to take the TARDIS and jump ahead twelve hours, just to shorten the waiting time before he could see Rose, but he didn't want to overshoot and have it accidentally be twelve months again.

So instead he tried to keep himself busy. He invented one hundred fifty-six new settings on his sonic. He dismantled and rebuilt four separate systems in the console, polished the time rotor, repaired a squeaky spring under the jump seat, showered, shaved and found a new shirt and tie in the wardrobe.

And it was still only 7:00 am.

He considered going out and taking a walk, but he couldn't risk Rose seeing him wandering around the Powell Estate. And he really couldn't risk her seeing him emerge from the TARDIS. He was sure she wasn't ready to deal with the shock of real aliens and a real alien spaceship, despite her joking about Star Trek the previous night. The thought of her losing any more memory than she already had sent a chill down his spine.

Finally, putting aside his worries and ignoring the protests of the TARDIS, he climbed back under the console and dismantled and rebuilt the navigational control circuits, the randomizer, and the dematerialization circuit, while he waited until he could see Rose again.

* * *

Rose awoke with a start to someone shaking her foot. She squinted at the brightness of the room and saw someone sitting on the foot of her bed.

"God, Shareen, what the hell are you doin'?" she asked irritably, yawning and stretching.

"What does it look like I'm doin'? I'm tryin' to wake you up."

"Okay, okay, I'm up, I'm up," Rose said, rising just enough to lean on her elbows. "What're you doin' here so early anyway?"

"Rose, it's 12:00. And I came to drop off your clothes and find out all about the bloke you picked up at the club."

"I didn't pick him up," Rose protested, yawning again.

"Okay, so he picked you up," Shareen responded. "Either way, what happened?"

"Nothin'," Rose said. "We went out for chips."

"Chips," Shareen said disbelievingly. "You expect me to believe all you did is go out for chips. Jackie says you didn't get home till one in the morning. Where'd you go, Reading?"

"What are you, my mother now?"

"No, cos your mum would scold you. I just want all the juicy details," Shareen smirked.

"There are no juicy details to be had, Shareen. We danced, we went for chips, he walked me home. End of story."

"That's it? That's it?" she said disbelievingly. "I came all the way over here for 'we went for chips and he walked me home'?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Shareen, you live, what, three blocks away?"

"'S not the point." Shareen sat on the foot of the bed and stared at Rose. "There's more, isn't there? I know you. Well, you might as well tell me now, because you know I'm just gonna get it out of you anyway."

Rose stared at her friend, considering. "Alright," she said, trying to hide a grin. "He might have, uh, kissed me."

Shareen shook her finger at Rose. "I knew it! I knew it! I knew you were holdin' out on me. But from the expression on your face, it must have been some kiss."

Rose grinned. "Oh, yeah."

"So, are you gonna see him again?" Shareen's eyes lit up. "You are, aren't you. Well, it's about bloody time. Jimmy was forever ago, the wanker, and I don't even count Mickey. I don't know if I should even count the bloke you were travelin' with since you don't even _remember_ him. When are you gonna see him?"

"Tonight," Rose grinned.

Her mobile started to ring, vibrating enough that it threatened to fall off the nightstand, and they both lunged for it. Shareen got there first and answered it.

"Hello? This is Shareen." She danced out of the way while Rose tried to grab the phone. "No, you don't have the wrong number. Yeah, Rose's right here. Is this the bloke from the club? Rose says you're a bloody good…"

"Shareen!" Rose hissed and she fairly tackled her friend to the floor, grabbing her mobile back in the process. "Hello?"

"_Hello, Rose?"_ the Doctor said in her ear.

"Yeah, it's me. Sorry about that. Friend of mine thought she'd help me out by answering the phone for me." At that, Rose glared at Shareen, kicked her in the leg and then sat back down on her bed.

"_Well, I was just wondering if you were free this afternoon. I thought we could go downtown and see some of the sights."_

"Okay, sure, sounds great. When?"

"_Maybe in about an hour?"_

"An hour?" Rose fairly squeaked.

"_Well, we could make it later if you want,"_ he said.

"Oh, no, an hour's fine. You know where I live. It's flat number 48. I'll see you then." She rang off and sat there for a moment in shock. "He's coming over early." She grinned.

"Are you goin' dressed like that?" Shareen asked pointedly.

Rose glanced down at herself and gasped. "I've got to get ready!" she said after noticing she was still in a vest and shorts. "Go home, Shareen."

"Fine, be that way," her friend answered, walking to the bedroom door. "But I'm going to expect a full report the next time I see you."

"Get out!" Rose yelled and threw a pillow across the room at the retreating back of her friend.

* * *

Jackie Tyler sat in the kitchen of her flat, nursing a cup of tea and hoping she hadn't made a mistake. To call that man, to actually invite him back into his daughter's life, was frightening to her. And that is exactly what she had done, invited him back. No, she had actually ordered him to come back. What had she been thinking? What on Earth had possessed her? No, what in outer space had possessed her to actually tell him to come back and risk Rose leaving with him again? With her memories gone, maybe she could eventually have been happy here on the Estate.

What had she done?

Rose burst into the kitchen and put a couple of slices of bread in the toaster. "Mornin', Mum."

"Mornin', Sweetheart," she replied automatically, and then glanced at the clock. "Well, not mornin', actually."

"Oh, Mum, don't start." She buttered her toast, poured herself a cup of tea from her mother's never-ending pot, and sat down opposite her.

"I saw Shareen," Jackie said. "She said you met someone at the club last night."

"Yeah," Rose replied. She couldn't stop a grin from spreading across her face. "Uh, we're going out today. He's gonna pick me up in just a little bit."

As Rose ate her breakfast, Jackie stared at her daughter in concern, wondering again if she had made the right decision in asking the Doctor to come back. On the one hand, Rose looked happier than she had since the Doctor had brought her home after losing her memories. But on the other hand, Rose had been in so much danger with him while she had been traveling with him. He had told her himself more than once that he couldn't keep Rose safe. That was why he had brought her home in the first place. And with Rose's memories of him gone, Jackie felt like she finally had her daughter back. But this wasn't about what was best for her. This was about what was best for Rose.

If she only knew what that was.

There was a knock on the door, and Rose jumped up. "That's him."

"Rose," Jackie said, pursing her lips, "just… be careful."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Mum, I'm a big girl now," she replied.

"Yeah, I know, but a mother worries."

"You don't have to worry," she said, kissing her mother's cheek. "I won't do anything stupid. And he's really nice." She heard him knock at the door again. "Got to go."

As Rose opened the door to let the Doctor in, Jackie stood in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"Yep." And as Rose walked out the door, she didn't see the Doctor glance at her mother, or her mother watch them leave, a serious expression on her face.

* * *

Since she was not scheduled to work for the next few days, the Doctor took Rose on a whirlwind tour of London: museums, the Palace, Piccadilly, the Eye, even Downing Street. He pulled her from one place to the next, seeming to have the same boundless energy that her cousins had when they had had too many sweets. She was continually amazed that he seemed to know, as well as be interested in, the history of everything around them, from the architecture of the buildings to the construction of the sewers and everything in between. Everywhere they went, he inundated her with more facts than she could ever remember, talking the whole time they were together. In fact, most of the time she could hardly get a word in edgewise. Still, he was way more interesting than any of the teachers she had ever had, and she didn't mind listening to him. Even when she didn't understand some of the things he was talking about, she liked listening to the sound of his voice. Not only did he have a nice voice, for some reason it was comforting, almost soothing. For some reason, it almost reminded her of home.

To her surprise, he always seemed to wear a brown pinstriped suit with some sort of an Oxford shirt, a coordinating tie and, oddly, trainers. She began to wonder if he owned anything else, but the outfit seemed to suit him, he looked very handsome in it actually, so she didn't remark on it.

Sometime on Sunday, sitting in a chip shop downtown, Rose told him about her memory loss.

"And you can't remember anything from the past three years?" he asked.

"No, nothin'," she replied. She took a deep breath. "I hope you don't think I'm mad."

He shook his head. "Having amnesia doesn't make you insane, Rose. It just means you can't remember some things."

"Mum said I was examined by the best doctor in the world," she said. "I don't remember that either, and I can't imagine how that could even be true with NHS. Anyway, according to her, he couldn't do anything to bring back my memories and evidently he tried a bunch of things." She looked away for a moment. "I feel so stupid."

"Oh, don't feel like that, Rose. I think you're brilliant."

She rolled her eyes. "You obviously don't know me very well. I don't have any A-levels, and I work in a takeaway."

"That doesn't mean you're not brilliant," he said seriously. "That just means you don't have any A-levels and you work in a takeaway." Then he grinned. "And I ought to know. I'm brilliant myself, a genius actually, and it takes one to know one. In fact," he said, leaning forward as if imparting a great secret, "I think you could actually save the world."

Crossing her arms, she sat back and stared at him, considering. "Y'know, I think I've changed my mind."

"Yeah?"

"Yep," she said, nodding vigorously. "You're the mad one."


	11. Chapter 11-- And Dancing

**Chapter Eleven—And Dancing**

Friday afternoon the Doctor nervously paced back and forth in the console room of the TARDIS, running his hands through his hair. This wasn't like him, he thought, this nervousness. Uneasiness, yes, fear, yes, anger and even rage were common. After all he wasn't called the Oncoming Storm for nothing. He regularly experienced frustration, boredom, disgust at intentional stupidity, and angst and despondency when he thought about himself (and everything he had done). He was used to excitement and manic energy and even the occasional bout of happiness. But the feelings of desire he had for Rose, which to be totally honest had begun during his previous incarnation, were entirely unlike anything he had felt for centuries. And the accompanying nervousness he felt was so rare for him as to be almost an entirely new experience. In fact, the only times he remembered feeling nervous were those times he had invited her to travel with him.

What was it about Rose Tyler that created such unTime Lord-like emotions in him, he thought. Nervousness, desire, jealousy, and particularly longing were so rare in Time Lords they could even be considered nonexistent. But somehow he felt all of those things and more. And it was the _more_ that scared him the most.

The past week had been both thrilling and terrifying. They had spent almost as much time together as when they were traveling, and done many of the same things as they would have, only in 21st century London rather than 51st century Barcelona or New New Earth. They took walks, they ate chips, they went to little shops and museums and even to a concert once. All things they had done before, but somehow it was different this time. And not just because of Rose's memory loss. No, it all seemed to have a greater significance about it, as if it somehow meant more. Probably because now it did mean more.

What was he doing, he thought to himself. If she didn't get her memory back, what was he going to do? Go domestic? Stay on Earth with her for the foreseeable future? Park the TARDIS somewhere and find a flat and a job? The thought both frightened and repelled him. But losing Rose again scared him even more. He wondered if Rose learning the truth about him now would be as much of a danger as it had been at first. He couldn't bear the thought of giving her up again.

Finally, taking a deep breath and gathering up his courage, he rang her mobile. She answered on the very first ring, as if she were waiting for his call.

"I'd like to take you to someplace special tonight," he said abruptly and without preamble and then added more tentatively, "Is that alright?"

"_I'd love it,"_ she said a little shyly, and in his mind he could clearly picture the smile she always had when she used that tone of voice.

"Wonderful. Brilliant," he said, knowing that her response had caused a goofy grin to spread across his face but not caring in the slightest. "I'll see you tonight, around 7:00."

* * *

The Doctor rang off, and Rose stared in front of her, unseeing, a smile slowly spreading across her face. Since meeting him they had spent part of every day together and had spoken on the phone until late into the night every night. He was literally the most extraordinary person she had ever met. He was brilliant, charming and funny, not to mention incredibly handsome and dead sexy. And despite only having known him a week, she thought she was falling in love with him.

And now he wanted to take her someplace special.

_Special, special, special_, she thought. _What does that mean? Posh,_ she suddenly realized. He wanted to take her someplace posh. She grinned until she was struck by a wave of panic. She rushed to her small closet and stared at the contents. It was filled with jeans, jumpers, t-shirts and hoodies. She owned very few skirts and even fewer dresses, and those were more suitable for clubbing rather than going someplace posh.

What on Earth was she going to wear?

She finally remembered something she had purchased on impulse ages ago. It had been expensive, but she had found it on the clearance rack at Henrik's, and that, plus her employee discount, had made it affordable. She had even been able to find a pair of glittery, strappy heels to go with it. She had never worn it, had never gone anyplace where she could wear it in fact, but it would be perfect for this. She dug in the back of her closet until she found it. Hoping it still fit, she tried it on and surveyed herself in the mirror.

It was a short, sleeveless dress in royal blue with a surplice neckline, an empire waist and a pleated skirt. It was classy, it was sexy and it was perfect.

After taking it off again, she crawled back into her closet to find her shoes. Then she showered and dressed again, pulled her hair up into a chignon, and put on her makeup, using a lighter touch than normal.

"You look beautiful, Sweetheart," her mum said as Rose entered the living room to wait for the Doctor.

"Thanks, Mum," she replied.

"Rose…" her mother said, looking worried.

"What is it?" she asked when her mother didn't continue.

"Oh, nothing," she said, shaking her head. "Never mind. Just… have a nice time, alright?"

"Thanks," Rose answered.

Within minutes the Doctor arrived, and to Rose's surprise, he wasn't wearing his typical pinstripes. Instead, her heart sped up when she saw he was wearing a tuxedo. He was absolutely gorgeous. Beyond gorgeous, in fact. And she smiled when she saw he wore black Converse with it.

His eyes widened when he saw her. "Blimey, you look beautiful," he said.

"Thanks," she replied. "You look pretty good yourself."

"Shall we, Miss Tyler," he asked, offering his arm to her.

She took it and grinned at him. "Yes, I believe we shall," she said. "Bye, Mum," she called over her shoulder.

* * *

Unlike their trips downtown when they had used public transport, the Doctor had rented a car for the evening. Rose's eyes widened in surprise when he ran to open her door for her. No one had ever done that for her, although that could have been because on all her previous dates with Jimmy and Mickey they had taken the bus.

The restaurant he took her to wasn't far from Peckham, but it was so different from anything on the Powell Estate she thought it might as well have been on a different planet.

"Oh my God," she said, staring up at the crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling in the lobby, "this place is amazing."

Grinning at her, the Doctor pulled what looked like a small billfold from the inside pocket of his tuxedo jacket, flipped it open and showed it to the maître d', who immediately led them to a small, candlelit table in a secluded corner of the restaurant.

After they had been seated and the maître d' had left, Rose stared down at her place setting.

"I don't know how to do this," she said, amusement creeping into her voice. "There's like a half dozen forks here alone."

"Well, don't ask me," he replied, "I don't know how to, either. I usually just give up and eat with my fingers."

She laughed. "So, what do people usually order in a place like this?" she said, picking up her menu.

"Oh, that's the beauty of a place like this, Rose. You can order anything you want. I don't know about you, but I think," he said, looking over his own menu, "I'm gonna have the steak… with chips." He glanced at her and winked.

She grinned at him. "Sounds great."

"Steak and chips for two it is!"

Later, after a delicious dinner, Rose watched as the Doctor took a spoonful of something gooey from his plate.

"What did you say that is again?" she asked.

"Bananas Foster. Its main ingredients are bananas and vanilla ice cream with a sauce primarily made from rum and banana liqueur," he replied. He glanced at her plate in amusement. "Whereas you seem to be having about three pounds of chocolate for dessert."

She didn't disagree. "They called it 'Death by Chocolate'," she informed him after taking a bite. "A piece of chocolate cake with chocolate ice cream on top, covered in hot fudge."

The Doctor took a bite of his dessert. "Oh," he moaned, his eyes rolling back in his head a bit, "this is marvelous. A true gustatory delight. Here, you _have_ to try this." Taking another spoonful, he held it up to Rose. Obediently, she opened her mouth and tasted it.

"Mmm," she nodded. "Good, but you need to try this." Using her own spoon, she scooped a bit of her dessert up and fed him in return.

"It's good," he agreed. "But it doesn't have bananas."

"What's with you and bananas, anyway?" she asked. The topic had come up more than once in the past week.

"Bananas are good," he informed her. "Always bring a banana to a party, Rose…"

* * *

Afterwards the Doctor took her dancing, and not the kind at the club. Real, old fashioned dancing, with a real band in an actual ballroom. She hadn't realized such places even existed anymore.

The band was playing big band music that evening, and she almost felt like she was floating as he swept her around the floor. At one point, the Doctor had gone to speak to the conductor for a moment, and when he had gotten back the band had begun to play _In the Mood_.

"Oh, I love this song," she said as he pulled her back onto the dance floor, and he just grinned widely.

Finally, he held her as they danced to _Moonlight Serenade_, his arms around her waist, her arms around his neck, her head resting against his chest. As much as she had loved the fast dancing they had done to many of the big band hits, and she was amazed by how many of the songs were familiar to her, it was nothing compared to the feeling she got by being held by him to the slow sounds of the clarinet, saxophones and trumpets. For a moment she closed her eyes and imagined herself dancing with him during World War II, in the middle of the Blitz, in a deserted room with _Moonlight Serenade_ playing on the radio and bombs going off in the distance. Why that image seemed so romantic to her she couldn't imagine, but it did. And as she leaned closer into him and he held her tighter, she smiled happily to herself.

* * *

Late that night, he walked her from the car back to her flat.

"Thank you," she said sincerely. "I had a fantastic time."

"Me, too," he replied, leaned down and gently kissed her.

After the night at the club, she had thought it would be impossible for any kiss to be better than that first kiss they had shared, but she had found that somehow each one since was better than the last. _He must be the best kisser on the planet_, she thought absently as they slowly snogged at her door, and she felt a profound sense of loss when he pulled away, despite feeling an acute need for oxygen.

"Do you… do you want to come in?" she asked breathlessly. When he looked hesitant, she continued. "Mum's not here. She was going out with Howard tonight and she'll probably spend the night at his place." Without waiting for an answer, she turned and unlocked the door, just expecting him to follow her, and he did.

Once inside the door, he pulled her in for another kiss, pulling her tightly to himself. Within moments they found themselves on the sofa, the jacket of his tux unbuttoned, his bowtie off and jammed in a pocket somewhere, her hair undone and flowing around her shoulders. His lips were on her throat with one hand cupping her breast. She sighed and dropped her head back, and he moved his mouth lower. She leaned back to lie on the sofa lengthwise, pulling him down with her, and her heart raced as she felt his hand move to her thigh, coming to rest just under the hem of her dress.

Suddenly he removed his hand and sat up with a groan. "I can't do this," he said. "I can't do this."

"Wha… what's wrong," she asked breathlessly.

"This is wrong," he said, more to himself than to her. "I can't…" He looked into her eyes. "And particularly not when you don't really know who I am."

She propped herself up on her elbows. "What do you mean, I don't really know who you are? What on Earth are you talking about?"

He took a deep breath. "Rose, do you trust me?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered automatically.

"No," he said seriously. "Do you really, really trust me?"

"Yes," she told him, matching his tone.

He stood up and offered her his hand. "Then come with me."


	12. Chapter 12-- The Truth

**Chapter 12—The Truth**

First taking her hand and pulling her to her feet, the Doctor led her out of the flat. To her surprise, once they had left the building, he walked with her around the corner and then stopped short. Taking her by the shoulders, he adjusted her slightly. "Look straight ahead," he said.

"What am I supposed to be looking at?" Rose asked, glancing at him. "There's nothing there."

"Look again," he urged. "And this time, concentrate on the color blue."

After a puzzled glance at him, she did what he asked. And then her eyes widened as suddenly she could begin to see something. At first it appeared to be just a bluish rectangle about ten feet in front of her, but slowly it began to take shape. It looked like a tall, blue box of some type. And then she saw it was labeled Police Public Call Box.

"How did I… how did I miss that?"

"Perception filter," he replied. "Doesn't quite make things invisible, but the mind doesn't process something with a perception filter on it unless you are looking for it, unless you know it's there." He paused a moment. "Do you trust me?" he asked again.

"I told you I did."

"Then come inside with me."

"In there?" she asked.

He nodded.

She stared at him for a moment, her brow furrowed. "Alright," she said eventually.

Pulling a key from his pocket, the Doctor walked up to the box and unlocked it, opening the door and stepping to the side. He motioned for her to go in. Rose walked through the door, stopped short and gaped. The room she was in was enormous, with tall, branching columns and walls that seemed to glow with an inner light. She ran back out and walked around and around the blue box while he walked inside. It wasn't a trick. Outside, it was small, like those old-fashioned telephone booths that had still been around when she was a child. But inside… it was just… impossible.

Well, she told him that she trusted him, Rose thought, and she followed him back in the blue box.

The Doctor stood in front of a glowing column in the center of the room. The size of the room made him look small by comparison, despite his height. "It's called the TARDIS," he said to her. "T. A. R. D. I. S. Stands for Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. It's my ship."

"It's… it's bigger on the inside," she stammered, intentionally not looking at him.

"Yes," he said simply.

Mouth slightly open, Rose walked around the room, staring in wonder at everything around her. "Is it alien?" she asked.

"Yes."

"And you said it's your ship," she said, still not looking at him. "Does that mean you're an alien?"

"Yes," he answered. "Is that alright?"

Her heart racing, she turned sharply and stared at him. He met her eyes, and she saw him swallow nervously.

She didn't say anything for a moment while she tried to process what he had told her. He was an alien. From outer space.

And she was fairly sure she was in love with him anyway.

"Yeah, it's okay," she said finally, and saw him visibly relax. She returned to looking around her. "I've never seen anything like this."

He cleared his throat. "Actually, you have. As a matter of fact, you traveled with me in the TARDIS for about a year and a half."

"Traveled?" she asked. "You mean in outer space?"

"Yep."

"I traveled in outer space with you?"

"Yep," he answered again.

Rose tried to take that in and finally shook her head. "Shareen said that I was traveling with someone, but it was someone else. If it had been you, she would have recognized you."

"No, actually it _was_ me. When we first started traveling together, I looked quite a bit different than I do now."

She blinked. "Really, really different," she said, thinking of Shareen's description. She took a deep breath. "Doctor, if we were traveling together, do you know what happened to me?"

"We were on a planet called Azalea. You were bitten by a worm called a memory worm, by hundreds of them in fact. They have a venom that can cause amnesia."

"And you knew all this time? Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Would you have believed me?" he asked. "And I was afraid that if you got a severe shock you would lose even more of your memories."

She sank down on a bench-like seat near the middle of the room. "Six months. I've been home for six months. Where were you?" It was just a question, not an accusation.

He sat down next to her and took her hand.

"Oh, lots of places," he said, "but I was nearby most of the time."

"Why didn't you come and see me?"

"Because you didn't remember me," he answered. "And I was afraid that the shock of finding out about me could make your amnesia worse, just like I was worried that seeing the TARDIS could have."

"But it didn't. Finding out about you and seeing the TARDIS didn't make it worse."

"But it could have. Particularly at the beginning, when you first lost your memory."

She took that in. "So, what changed? Why did you come back?" she asked after a long pause.

"Believe it or not, Jackie asked me to come back," he said.

Rose stared at him in shock. "My mother asked you to come back?" she asked disbelievingly. "What, are you good friends with her or something?"

The Doctor laughed. "That is _not_ the way I'd characterize my relationship with your mother. But even though Jackie asked me to come back, that's not _why_ I came."

"So why did you come back?" she asked.

"I missed you," he said simply.

"So were we… together?" she asked hesitantly.

The Doctor shook his head. "No." He sighed. "We were good friends, the very, very best of friends, but before you lost your memory that's really all we were."

He took a deep breath. "Rose, there are some things I need to tell you, and I wouldn't blame you if you hated me afterwards, but you need to know. After you first lost your memory, I tried to heal you…"

Rose interrupted him. "You're the doctor my mum mentioned," she said in surprise.

"Yes," he nodded. "When you first lost your memory, I tried giving you neurotransmitters, which obviously didn't work, but I also tried… telepathy."

"You mean like, you were inside my head?" she said in shock.

"Yes, but I didn't look at anything. I swear," the Doctor said quickly. "I was just trying to survey the damage and see if I could fix it. But I couldn't."

She was silent for a few moments. "I don't know how I feel about that, you being in my head and everything," she said quietly. "Don't do it again, at least not without asking first."

"No, I won't. I promise," he said, taking hope from the fact that she hadn't immediately told him to shove off.

Rose took a deep breath and tried to make sense of everything he had told her. It was all so incredible. She had traveled in a spaceship that was bigger on the inside with an alien from outer space. And somehow she had forgotten it all.

"But Rose, there's more." He cleared his throat and looked extremely uncomfortable. "Immediately after you were bitten, you were rushed to that planet's version of A & E and were treated there. Anyway, while we were there, the doctor who treated you suggested another method to get your memory back."

When he didn't continue, she prodded him. "So, what was it?"

He looked away from her as if he didn't want her to see his face and said something inaudible.

"What?" she asked.

Elbow on one knee, he closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose and said whatever it was again.

Again she couldn't hear him.

"What?" she asked again.

"Physical intimacy," he almost shouted, and then winced, as if he hadn't meant for it to come out quite so loudly.

She burst out laughing. "What, we were supposed to shag to get my memory back? You're kidding, right?" She searched his face for any sign that he was joking. There wasn't any. "Seriously?" When he nodded, she laughed harder.

He shrugged his shoulders, looking embarrassed.

She bit her lip to stop laughing. "Well, I'm assuming we didn't because I still don't remember anything." She looked at him closely and frowned. "We didn't, did we? I mean, we didn't shag and then it just didn't work for some reason."

"No," the Doctor said. "We didn't."

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at him. "But you changed your mind. You were going to do it after all, weren't you?" she said, feeling slightly manipulated. "Is that what this whole week has been about? Getting me to shag you so I'd remember you again?"

"No, Rose, it wasn't," he said. "I couldn't, can't, seduce you. Not to get your memories back. Not even so you would remember me."

She stared at him. She couldn't figure him out. He sounded like he didn't want to shag her. But all week he had acted like he did. He might be an alien, she decided finally, but he was also male and she was sure that in the flat he had wanted her. No one was that good an actor.

"Besides," he continued wryly, "even if I, we, did, by now it may be too late. The doctor I spoke with said that whatever we did to try and get your memory back had to be done quickly or the memory loss could be permanent."

"Are you saying I may never remember no matter what we do?" she asked.

"I don't know," he admitted.

They sat there quietly for a minute.

"Doctor, what_ was_ this week about?" she asked.

"Rose, I missed you. I wanted to see you again. And I hoped… I hoped you'd eventually be able to travel with me again." He paused and then said hesitantly, "Would you? Like to travel with me again, I mean. Even if you don't remember traveling with me before." To her surprise, he looked nervous, almost shy, as he waited for her answer.

"Yes," she said, smiling at him. "I'd like that. I'm sure I loved traveling with you."

His face lit up in a wide grin.

"So I'm guessing you don't want to seduce me," she continued.

"Rose…" he started.

"Doctor, what if…" She paused until he met her eyes. "What if _I_ seduce _you_?"

His brow furrowed as he stared at her disbelievingly. "What? So you can get your memory back?" He was more than a little shocked that she would even suggest it. This did not sound like the Rose he knew. "But that's… Not to mention the fact that it probably wouldn't work at this point anyway."

"No, not to get my memory back," she said evenly. "Just because I want to. Is that alright?"

He stared at her wide-eyed, and then slowly smiled. "Oh, yes."


	13. Chapter 13-- Seduction

**a/n: I just want to say that the response to this story has been absolutely overwhelming. Thank you to everyone who has followed, favorited, or reviewed this story. And a very big thank you to bittie752 again for encouraging me to write this. Also, I have tried very hard to keep this story at a T rating. Although it may push the boundary a tiny bit, I don't believe it crosses over to M territory. There is a more adult version available on the website A Teaspoon and an Open Mind.**

* * *

**Chapter 13—Seduction  
**

"Oh, yes," the Doctor breathed again. Grabbing her face again as he had the night of the club, he quickly leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. She closed her eyes and responded, first running her fingers through his hair and then dropping them to caress the back of his neck. He pulled her into his lap and deepened the kiss.

Rose shifted, straddling his legs and resting her knees on the jump seat. The desire he had been feeling all evening turned into a sharp wave of arousal, which this time he didn't try to suppress. Instead, he cupped her bum and pulled her closer to him.

Rose's heart began to pound wildly as what started out soft and slow quickly became heated. In all the times they had kissed, and by this time they had kissed a lot, he had always been extremely gentle as he kissed her, almost as if he were keeping himself under tight rein. But now his kisses became hard, almost demanding, and she felt overwhelmed by their intensity.

Brushing her hair to the side, the Doctor placed openmouthed kisses on her neck and shoulder. "All I could think about that night in the club was how much I wanted to do this, kiss you exactly like this," he said in a low voice.

Closing her eyes and breathing heavily, "While we were dancin' at the club, that's exactly what I wanted you to do."

"That outfit you were wearing, it would be illegal on one hundred fifty-six planets I can think of off the top of my head. Don't ever get rid of it."

"I don't suppose… you have any… other rooms… in this ship," she said, running her fingers through his hair again. She paused to speak after every kiss she placed on his forehead.

"TARDIS," he corrected, kissing her jawline and throat. "And there are hundreds… thousands… possibly even more."

"Any bedrooms?"

"Hundreds, probably," he told her. "I've never bothered to count."

"And in all those bedrooms… do any of them have a bed?"

"Of course," he said as he continued to kiss her.

She pulled far enough away to stare at him meaningfully, one eyebrow raised.

Slowly he remembered where they were. And how uncomfortable the jump seat would be for certain activities. Although it was an intriguing thought… but no.

_At least, not this time_, he thought, grinning to himself.

Standing up, the Doctor took her hand and pulled her down a long series of corridors, but Rose hardly noticed her surroundings as he kept stopping to kiss her every few feet or so. But she wasn't complaining._ Nope_, she thought, _definitely not complaining_.

They finally arrived at a plain door at the end of a long hallway. There was only one other door nearby.

"Was this my room?" she asked.

"No, actually that one was your room," he said, pointing out the other door. He pulled her in for another kiss, leaning her against the door frame and pressing himself tightly against her. "This one is mine," he whispered in her ear and kissed her again.

Reaching around her without looking, he opened the door next to her, but in his effort to reach the doorknob he leaned too far over, almost falling into the room as the door swung open. As he stumbled, he pulled her with him. They looked at each other and burst out laughing.

Standing up straight, Rose looked around the room. Unlike the rest of the ship she had seen, this particular room didn't look alien. Instead, it looked like a beautiful, if masculine, bedroom, with dark, paneled walls and heavy, comfortable looking furniture. A thick oriental rug in shades of blue and brown lay on the floor. One wall contained a tall bookcase with an overstuffed chair and floor lamp next to it. There was a door leading to what was probably the en suite on the far wall. And then there was the bed.

It was huge, to Rose's eyes, longer than and possibly twice as wide as her bed in her mum's flat, with a solid headboard made of some sort of dark wood. The bed was covered in a duvet in blues and browns that coordinated with the rug, and huge, soft pillows in matching colors lay at the head of the bed.

"Wow," Rose said. "'S gorgeous."

"Yeah, it is."

Rose glanced at him curiously when he sounded surprised.

"But you said this was your room. You sound like you've never seen it before," she said.

"I haven't. Well, obviously I have, it's my room after all, but it never looked like this before," he laughed. "The TARDIS has been doing a little redecorating. She must approve."

"She?"

He nodded. "The TARDIS is alive, and possibly sentient. Certainly semi-sentient. And she has always liked you, particularly since… Well, that's a topic for another time," he said. He took her chin in his hand and looked deeply into her eyes. "Rose, are you sure about this? Because we don't have to do this."

"The question is, are you sure, Doctor?" she asked seriously. "Because I am."

In answer, he swept her off her feet and placed her on the bed. After removing his jacket, shirt and shoes, he crawled onto the bed, joining her there. He leaned over to kiss her, placing openmouthed kisses on her throat and jaw and lips, all the while touching her, caressing her everywhere, marveling at the softness of her skin. In response, she ran her hands up his arms and back, feeling the lean, hard muscles under her fingertips.

Kissing him, touching him, and having him kiss and caress her, was wonderful. She didn't ever want to stop. Although she couldn't actually remember anything about their time together, knowing she had known him explained the connection she had felt with him almost instantly, on an almost instinctive level. There had been an immediate attraction, but there had been more, she thought, in how natural it had been to spend time with him, how natural it was to hold his hand. And despite him saying that they hadn't been together, she was certain that she had wanted to do this for a very, very long time. And from his reaction to her, it appeared that he had felt the same way. She wanted to ask him why that was, why they hadn't been involved before. But not now, she thought. Later. Much later.

After giving her one last kiss to a spot immediately in front of her ear, the Doctor looked deeply into her eyes. The lovemaking they had begun, because that was what it was, between them it could never be just a shag, had left a flush to her skin and her long blonde hair was splayed around her on the pillow. And he was struck yet again at how beautiful the colors pink and yellow could be, would always be to him for the rest of his lives.

Rose raised her hand to his face. As she caressed his sideburn and jaw, the Doctor saw her look up at him with such an expression of desire and trust and… it shouldn't have been possible, it was too soon, she didn't remember him from before, but somehow her face reflected unconditional love and acceptance of him, the way she had always looked at him in the past. And he swore he would never take that look for granted again.

"You are absolutely breathtaking," he whispered to her. "Rose Tyler, I…" He couldn't finish the sentence, but he saw understanding written in her face. Even now, despite everything, somehow she knew. And he dropped his head and kissed her, trying to communicate in that kiss everything he couldn't verbalize.

Time Lords didn't do this, didn't want this, weren't filled with longing and desire and arousal and love… he could admit it to himself even if he couldn't form the words. But he had wanted this, wanted her for oh, so long. Truth be told, perhaps since he had met her.

From the time he had told her he was all alone. And she had said, "There's me".

And he whispered her name again, as if it were a prayer, and kissed her, and showed her without words how much he loved her.

Afterwards, for the first time in centuries he felt at peace with the universe. And lying there with her in his arms, for the first time in so very long, possibly ever, he was overcome by the feeling he was no longer alone.

* * *

"Y'know, John Smith doesn't really sound like an alien name," Rose said later. She was lying in his arms, lazily running her fingers across his chest.

"It's one of the names I go by occasionally," he told her, "but really, I am called the Doctor. Just the Doctor."

"Are you sure you're an alien?" she said. "Cos you look human."

"Actually you look Time Lord," he said, and began to kiss her temple.

For a second, she wondered if he was doing what he was doing on purpose, in order to distract her. Because if he was, it was definitely working. She reminded herself she needed to focus. But that was becoming increasingly difficult. What was she going to ask him again? Oh, yeah.

"What's a Time Lord?" she asked absently.

"That's what I am," he said, "and Time Lords were around _way_ before humans."

She was going to ask him something else, but then he began to do something incredible to her ear with his tongue, and she totally forgot what they were talking about.

* * *

"Again?" she said in surprise much later. She was lying on her back with the Doctor next to her. He was currently slowly tracing circular patterns with his long fingers down her stomach. "This'll be like, what, the fourth time?"

"Is that a problem?" he asked, his voice tinged with concern for her.

"Not for me," she answered in amusement. "I just wouldn't think you could, not so soon at any rate, and not so many times."

"Superior Time Lord biology," he told her smugly, placing a kiss on her shoulder. "Binary circulatory system."

"Which means?" she asked.

"It means I have two hearts," he said.

"Seriously?" She rolled over to face him, and he nodded at her. She pushed him onto his back and placed her ear first on one side of his chest, and then on the other. She looked at him in amazement. "You have two hearts," she told him.

"Yeah, I know," he said, his mouth twisted into a small smile. "And a superior circulatory system, as well as a superior nervous system, means I have virtually no refractory period." He smirked at her and began to kiss her throat, and she tilted her head back to give him greater access.

"You think you're so impressive," she breathed.

"I am so impressive," he replied, and moved lower. She gasped.

"Uh, yeah, you kinda are."

* * *

"There are so many wonderful places out there, Rose," he said. Although there were no windows or clock in the TARDIS, with his Time Sense he knew that it was now almost dawn. "So many fantastic things to see. Stars, planets… there's even a nebula that looks like a rose. And I want to show them all to you."

"Musta been wonderful, traveling with you," she said, yawning. "Will you tell me about it? Not right now. Later. Will you tell me about all our travels, everywhere we've been, everything we've seen?"

"Of course," he said.

"I'm so sorry I don't remember," she said apologetically.

He swallowed hard and brushed a lock of hair from her face. "It's all right, Rose. I'll remember for both of us."

She smiled sleepily, her eyes half closed. "I may not remember you from before, but I know you now. And that's good enough. Better than good. Great. Fantastic, even."

"Yes, it is. It's absolutely brilliant," he said softly. "But it's very, very late. Actually, it's fairly early in the morning. Why don't you get a little sleep?"

She nodded, closing her eyes. "I'm so glad I met you, Doctor," she whispered.

"Me too, Rose." And as he kissed her forehead he realized she was already asleep.

He held her as she slept, his arm around her shoulders, her head on his chest. And he was happy. He would have wished that she would regain her memories of him, of when they met, of their early days together, of who he used to be, but if she didn't, if she never did, it would be all right. They were together now. The Doctor and Rose Tyler. Together. In the TARDIS. As it should be.

He rarely needed sleep, but he found himself drifting off._ She wore me out_, he thought, grinning, and gave in to the urge for rest.

Later, he awoke when he felt Rose stirring, and he tightened his grip on her in response.

"Mmm." She smiled and stretched and then lifted herself up enough to kiss him. "My Doctor," she whispered.

And there seemed to be a look of recognition in her face that hadn't been there before.

He stared at her, not daring to hope.

"Rose," he asked her, "are you remembering?"

She leaned forward and whispered in his ear.

"You took my hand and said one word. Just one word. You said, 'Run'."


End file.
